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Sandy Li

Shui On Land hopes to repeat success of Shanghai's Xintiandi
After about 8,000 households in Donghua Lane district in Foshan, Guangdong province,  moved out  to make way for the redevelopment of the city's most treasured historical area, the  neighbourhood was deserted until the arrival of Matthew White.
The American architect  moved  into one of the courtyard houses in Donghua Lane a month ago, after the developer Shui On Land hired his company, Benwood Studio Shanghai, as the designer and planner of the 20 billion yuan (HK$22.6 billion) renewal project.
Benwood Studio is  the architect of another restoration project by Shui On,  the well-known Xintiandi tourist precinct in Shanghai.
'This courtyard house is probably a couple of hundred years old,'  Mr White said   during a media visit  to  Donghua Lane, which is designated as a national cultural  relic under the protection of the central government.
He is the only resident there now. Instead of staying in a hotel, he hopes to find  inspiration from  living among   Lingnan's architecture.
The  style dates  from the late Qing dynasty that features gardens, lakes, bridges, sculptures and intricate carvings in clay, porcelain, brick, wood and stone.
'Our challenge is how to blend the old and new together harmoniously,' he said after Shui On  chairman Vincent Lo Hong-shui officiated at the ground breaking  for the Foshan Lingnan Tiandi project early this month. The city is about four hours' drive from Hong Kong.
Twenty-two other historical sites, including Kan's Villa, the Marriage House, a Confucius temple and the  Li Chung Shing Tong  Chinese medicine shop will be seamlessly blended into the mixed-use redevelopment project, which comprises residential, commercial and heritage elements in the city core.
Foshan Lingnan Tiandi  - which, like Xintiandi in Shanghai,  will have outdoor  cafes, bars and restaurants, trendy shops and hotels - is to be developed in five phases.
Phase 1  will comprise a 350-room five-star hotel, a 50-room boutique hotel, a commercial area and a luxury residential complex with a total gross floor area of 175,700 square metres.
It is expected to  be ready for the East Asian Games to be hosted by Guangzhou in 2010.
The  entire redevelopment will provide a gross floor area of 1.5 million sq metres and  is scheduled to be completed in 2020.
It aims to be a cultural hub dotted with theatres, exhibition halls, galleries, museums and workshops.
Green areas, squares, artificial lakes and water runways are planned to  provide  a pleasant environment  that the developer hopes will turn Foshan Lingnan Tiandi into a landmark district in the city.
Mr White said the boutique hotel would comprise four suites with designs similar to those of courtyard houses.
'These unique courtyard-house-style suites aim to cater to VIP guests and business leaders,' he said.
Of the 22 historical sites, Kan's Villa would serve the same purpose  as Shanghai Xintiandi's First Communist Party Hall - a popular museum among tourists in Shanghai that also serves as  Mr Lo's venue to entertain his business partners or  leaders of foreign countries during their  visits to  Shanghai.
A company executive said Mr Lo once  had dinner with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin  of Russia in the VIP room of the historic First Communist Party Hall.
In Foshan, the Marriage House - an antique building - will be turned  into a venue for newlyweds to have their photos taken or to host  a banquet in the old Chinese style.
Asked if Foshan could support such a large-scale commercial development, Mr White  said he was confident that the project would succeed.
He  said Foshan Lingnan Tiandi could become one of Guangdong's major tourist attractions along with the nearby watchtowers in Kaiping, a unique  blend of  eastern and western castle architecture.
About an hour's drive from Foshan,  the 200 watchtowers  were owned by people who left Kaiping between 1840 and the early 20th century to work in  gold mines and build railways in the  United States, Canada and other countries.
Tourism in Kaiping was  given a boost when Unesco added the watchtowers to its list of world heritage sites  last year.
Besides Xintiandi  and Foshan Lingnan Tiandi, Shui On  is  involved in  similar redevelopment projects that include Chongqing Tiandi and Wuhan Tiandi.
Foshan Lingnan Tiandi attempts to preserve and promote the deep-rooted Lingnan culture in Foshan, Mr Lo said.
'The project will be a landmark in the city and will  help propel Foshan on to a higher plan of development,' he said.
'It uniquely integrates the themes of  culture, tourism, commerce and leisure, creating a new experience for residents, visitors and customers.'



Foshan project to preserve city's Lingnan heritage